Why is the crypto price different on Robinhood?

The crypto price on Robinhood looks different from the price you pay because the chart and the order use different numbers. Robinhood says the price on each coin's page is the mid price, the midpoint between the bid and the ask. A buy fills at the ask, which is usually higher, and a sell fills at the bid, which is usually lower. The gap is the spread, explained in general in what is a bid-ask spread. Details are as of November 2026.

Why is the Robinhood crypto price different when you buy or sell?

Robinhood's help center shows separate estimated buy and sell prices on the order screen, and the difference between them is the spread. It says spreads are narrower for more liquid coins such as bitcoin, so smaller coins usually show a bigger gap between the chart and the fill.

Market moves add to it. Robinhood turns crypto market orders into limit orders with a buffer of up to 1% for buys and 5% for sells, and says any gap between the estimated price and the fill comes from the market moving. The difference between order types is covered in limit order vs market order.

How does the Robinhood crypto spread relate to fees?

On the default route, called market maker routing, Robinhood charges no separate fee. Instead, its order routing page says Robinhood Crypto receives part of each order's value from the market makers that fill it, and that amount is included in the spread. As of June 15, 2026, it gives the rate as 95 cents per 100 dollars traded, and in its example a 96 cent spread on a 100 dollar buy includes that 95 cents.

The other option, exchange routing, sends orders to partner exchanges and charges a visible fee from 0% to 0.95% based on 30-day volume, with no rebate to Robinhood. Robinhood says neither route guarantees a better all-in price. The two models are compared in how does crypto on Robinhood work.

Why is the Robinhood bitcoin price different from Coinbase or CoinMarketCap?

Every exchange has its own order book and its own buyers and sellers, so bid and ask prices differ slightly from venue to venue at any moment. Robinhood's default orders fill through market makers it does not name.

Price sites measure something else. CoinMarketCap says its price for a coin is a volume-weighted average of prices across all the trading pairs it tracks, with outliers excluded. That figure is an average, not a quote you can trade on at Robinhood or anywhere else. More on how such sites work is in what is CoinMarketCap.

How can you see the real Robinhood price before you trade?

Robinhood says the current bid and ask appear on the order review screen before you submit. Comparing those two numbers with the mid price on the chart shows the spread you face for that trade. A limit order sets the most you will pay or the least you will accept, though Robinhood notes it may not fill.